U.S. federal agents raided the Florida offices of Colonial BancGroup Inc. (CNB) and wholesale mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. on Monday, just days after a financial deal between the two firms fell through.

The Special Inspector General for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program said that its agents had executed search warrants at the two offices but offered no further details about the ongoing investigation.

Colonial Bank spokeswoman Merrie Tolbert confirmed that the bank's office in Orlando, Fla., was searched by agents, but said she didn't know what agents were investigating.

"The bank is cooperating," Tolbert said, adding that the bank's day-to-day operations wouldn't be affected.

Repeated calls to Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, based in Ocala, Fla., went unreturned, but company Chairman Lee Farkas was quoted in the Ocala Star-Banner saying that the search warrants dealt with company documents.

"We have cooperated with the FBI on a search warrant relating to dealings we have had with Colonial Bank," Farkas was quoted as saying. "Taylor Bean has had a large lending relationship with Colonial Bank and has for many years. The company is a borrower and does a lot of business with Colonial Bank."

The raid comes just days after a $300 million investment by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker in Colonial fell through, leading the bank to say there is now "substantial doubt" about its ability to remain a going concern. The financial deal with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker had been a key requirement for Colonial to obtain federal aid through the TARP program.

Colonial bank has been in trouble for months, hurt like many firms by the sharp tumble in the real estate and construction markets and the broader credit crisis. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Alabama regulators have all slapped the bank with cease-and-desist orders in recent months, requiring it to raise capital.

The bank recently announced it was selling off 21 Nevada branches, and other asset sales are a possibility. Last week, Colonial said it is exploring a sale or merger of the firm, as well as additional sources of private capital.

-By Michael R. Crittenden, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9273; michael.crittenden@dowjones.com